Little by little, the government is putting in place the various bricks of its nuclear acceleration plan. This Friday, three ministers - Sylvie Retailleau (Higher Education), Agnès Pannier-Runacher (Energy Transition) and Carole Grandjean (Education and Vocational Training) - are travelling to Caen, Normandy, to unveil the investments that will be devoted to training dedicated to nuclear power. €42 million will be released as part of the France 2030 plan. Gifen, which federates companies in the nuclear sector, has estimated its recruitment needs at 100,000 people by 2030.
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"All levels of training are concerned, from the professional sector to the bac + 8," says Sylvie Retailleau's office. "Today, 7,500 training courses at all levels already exist, we must also make them more attractive," adds Hélène Badia, president of the University of Nuclear Professions. In addition, €40 million is earmarked for the modernisation of Ganil, the Grand Accélérateur national d'ions lourds, one of the major international laboratories in the field of the atom, in Caen. The opportunity for the ministers to recall the importance of Normandy in the national nuclear industry, which houses 9 reactors. It is also in this region, in Penly, that the first two EPR 2 of the new nuclear program wanted by the Élysée will be built.
Another component of this program is support for the financing of start-ups. In this context, Newcleo and Naarea will benefit from 15 and 10 million euros respectively to accelerate their development. Nuward, EDF's SMR (small modular reactor) project, will also benefit from public financial support, the amount of which will be unveiled on Friday. "This grant gives us visibility and credibility. It is an additional lever to attract private funding and continue to hire," in order to increase the workforce from 140 to 200 employees, explains Jean-Luc Alexandre, CEO of Naarea.
